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{No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

I. BIRGE.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. 7 No. 325,385. Patented Sept. 1, 1885.

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(No Model.) 2' Sheets-Sheet 2.

I. BIRGE.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

No. 325,385. Patented Sept. 1, 1885..

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N. FEFERS. Fhclvlllhogmphor. Washingturk D. C

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn ISIDORE BIRGFl, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENXSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE TRANSIT APPARATUS COMPANY, (LIMITED,) OF SAMEPLACE.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 325.38 dated p ember1885;

Application filed June 29, 1885. (N model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISIDORE BIRGE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Store-Service Apparatus,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to the class of store-scrvice apparatusin which the traveli ng carrier is a basket or other goods-receiversuspended from the depending arm or hanger of a one or two wheeledtruck, the, wheel or wheels of which travel upon an elevated trackcomposed of a single rail.

My invent-ion relates, specifically, to the carrier receivers or devicesfor receiving the carriers at the end of a given line of track, and forpermitting of the descent or bringing down of said carriers, one by one,from the level of the track to a lower level and to within the reach ofan attendant; and it also relates to devices of a somewhat similarcharacter, which may be termed send off devices, and which are employedfor elevating the carriers from a lower level and depositing them upon atrack; and its object is the provision of a convenient cord or rope andpulley arrangement,by the employment of which, in connection with theterminal extremity of a returning track and the advance extremity of a-.delivcrytrack, and likewise in connection with both the receiving andthe sendoff de' vices proper, a single pulling-rope is caused to do dutyboth for operating the receiver, so as to permit of the bringing down ofthe carrier from the returning-track, and for operating the send-offcontrivance, so as to occasion the elevation to and deposit of thecarrier upon the delivery-track.

In the accompanying drawings, which rep resent apparatus convenientlyembodying my improvements, the four figures are all views, partly inside elevation and partly in perspective, of a receiver and send-offplaced close together, so as to constitute a station, and connectedtogether by a carrier cord which is common to both, and which isoperated by a single pulling-cord,after the manner of my invention.

In Figure l the parts occupy the position which they respectively occupywhen the apparatus is at rest. In this position the carrier arresterblocks the returning-track, and both the receiver and send-off occupytheir depending or vertical positions.

In Fig. 2 the parts occupy the positions which they occupy in Fig. 1,with the exception that the send-off cord R, which is connected with thecarriercord, has been pulled down to bring down the carrier-cord throughthe send-off, so as to permit of the placingof a carrier which is to bedispatched upon said cord. The dotted lines indicate the position whichthe carrier-cord takes when the carrier is placed upon it. In thisposition the double pulley P is lifted somewhat.

In Fig. 3 the parts are represented in the position which they occupywhen traction is being exerted downward upon the single pulling-rope Q,which is connected with the double pulley, and when the carrier which isto be dispatched has been almost raised up to within the send-ofi. Inthis position the traction exerted upon the pulling-rope has caused thelifting of the receiver, and consequently the tilting of the arrester,so as to permit the carrier,designated as No. 1 in Fig. 2,and which isshown in said figure as having arrived and having been arrest-ed by thearrester, to gravitate into the receiver, so that so soon as carrier No.2-, which, as shown in Fig. 2, has been placed upon the cord, and which,as shown in said Fig. 3, is being raised up, has been, as shown in Fig.4, discharged upon the delivery-track, the said carrier No. 1 can be,upon the release of the single pulling-rope, brought down upon thecarrier-cord.

In Fig. 4 the said carrier No. 2 is shown as traveling off upon thedelivery-track, while the carrier No. I is shown as descending upon thecarrier-cord. In this position the weight of the carrier Ho. 1 issufficient to maintain the send-oft in the horizontal position intowhich it was lifted by the traction exerted upon the single pullingcordin the action (represented in said Fig. 3) of lifting up and send ingoff the carrier No. 2.

After the carrier No. 1 (represented as descending in Fig. 4) has beentaken off the carrier-cord, the send-off drops, and the double pulleydescends until all the parts are established in the position representedin Fig. 1.

to me in and by Letters Patent No. 291,280,

granted January l, 1884:. The specific form of receiver represented inthe drawings, how ever, embodiesv certain improvements made by me andconstituting the subject-matter of an application for patent filed by mein the United States Patent Office, April 23, 1885, as SerialNo.163,224, and also embodies other improvements upon my improvedreceiver invented by Selden G. North, and constituting thesubject-matter of an application for patent filed by him in the UnitedStates Patent Office, April 24, 1885, as Serial No. 163,253.

It is proper, however, to say that while I have represented a receiverof the above character, yet that other receiving devices operating in asimilar manner can be substituted instead of the receiver shown. Thereceiver in question, briefly described, operates in conjunction withthe terminal of the returning-track and is conveniently pivoted thereto.It is composed of two suitably-shaped side plates, 0, connected andsustained together by a suit able cover or otherwise held in fixed butsuitably-distant relationship. Close to one side plate and connectedtherewith is the trackbar c",which,when the receiver is raised,eonstitutes a continuous connection of the track 13. e is a detentpivoted to the track-bar of the receiver and connected with the commoncarrier-cord D.

c are friction-rolls for the cord, which are housed in the receiver. Thereceiver, therefore, is itself a cage inclosed at sides and top, thefloor of which, when in the horizontal position represented in Fig. 3,is constituted by the track-bar c or continuation of the track. \Vhen ina vertical position, the receiver is in effect a suspended pocket orcage, from which curved, channeled, or guttered lever,conveniently'pivoted at or near its center to a bracket, 6, dependingfrom the forked suspender I).

The front arm of the arrester is designated 6 and the back arm 0 Y F isa lever of the first order, pivoted to the forked suspender andconnectingthe arrester with the receiver. The operation of this receiveris fully set forth in my application above referred to. The entirearrangement constitutes a positively-operating combined receiver andarrester, in which the rear arm of the arrester occasions the blockingof the track when the receiver is dropped, and in which the front arm ofsaid arrester when the receiver is lifted is deflected to admit theadvance of the carrier upon the track.

I do not herein seek to claim the invention of the receiver, thearrester, or the connection between them, as these features are alreadymade the subjects of applications for patents, as referred to. I havesimply described them because some description is necessary for a fullcomprehension of the improvements.

G is what I call a send-off, it being a cage-like device pivoted to thedelivery-track A, and containing a track-bar, 9, similar to thetrack-bar of the receiver, except that it is coextensive with the lengthof the send-off and not continued by a dete'ut.

g are friction-rolls applied to the send-off for the carrier-cord to runthrough. The sendoff represented is a convenient one; but any other send-off of similar general operation may, of course, be employed instead ofthat represented.

D is the carrier cord, which is common to and operative of both thesend-off and the receiver. It passes over a pulley, d, located above thereceiver, over a pulley, (1, located above the sendoff, and also over apulley, d located between the said pulleys d d". The said three pulleysare all-suspensory pulleys, over the tops of which the cord runs andbears. These pulleys are supported by arms dfiwhich are connectedconveniently to rods erected from the forked suspenders. The carriercordin line below the middle pulley, (1, passes in opposite directionsaround and beneath two pulleys, together constituting a double pulley,I, contained in a suitable housing, 19, to which is connected and fromwhich depends a single pulling-rope, Q. The course of the carrier-cordis from the receiver over the pol; ley (1, down and around one of thepulleys of the double pulley P, up and around the middle pulley, d downand around the other pulley of the double pulley P, up and around thepulley (P, and down to the send-off.

R is what I term a send-off cord, provided with a little ring, 1',pulley, or other equivalent contrivance, through which the carrier-cordis threaded, which is applied, as shown, to the sendoff. The office ofthis send-off cord is to permit the operator to draw down theearrier-cord from the position which it is represented as occupying inFig. 1,to that depicted in Fig. 2, so that a carrier may be placed uponits, for the time being, bight.

In the drawings, the carrier, which is shown as being sent off, isdesignated as No. 2, while that shown as being received is designated asNo. 1.

Having now described a convenient construction of an apparatus embodyingmy invention, its operation will, I believe, he sufficiently understood.Suffice it, however, to recite briefly that at rest the parts occupyrelatively the position shown in Fig. 1. In this position of parts, whena carrier arrives on the returning-track and is to be broughtdown,traction is exerted upon the pulling-rope Q, until both thesend-off and the receiver are lifted to the horizontal position. Thelifting of the send-off is simply incidental. As, how ever, the receiverassumes its horizontal position, the arrester lifts and the carrier uponthe returning-track runs into the receiver, after which a release of thecord occasions the descent of the said carrier, after the mannerrepresented in Fig. 4. Then, on the other hand, it is desired tosend-oft'a carrier, no car rier being in readiness to be taken down, thesend-oftcord is pulled, as shown in Fig. 2, and the carrier to be sentoff placed upon the carrier-cord. Traction is then exerted upon thepulling-rope, with the result that the carrier to be sent off is lifted,as represented in Fig. 3, and dispatched after the manner represented inFig. 3 and also in Fig. 4. If, however, in the meanwhile, and duringthis action shown in Fig. 3, a returning carrier has arrived and been,the arrester being of course lifted, received in the receiver, after thecarrier to be dispatched has been sent off the returned carrieris, uponthe release of the pulling-cord, caused to descend, as shown in Fig. 4.It will therefore be apparent that a single carrying-cord which iscommon to both receiver and sendoff, will act to operate either thereceiver or the send-off separately, or will operate or may be operatedin such manner as to occasion the conjoint operation of both receiverand send-off, as already described.

The device is simple, not liable to get out of order, and saves thenecessity of the employment of separate carrier-cords in connec tionwith both receiver and the send-off.

It is obvious, as already stated, that it is immaterial as to whatprecise construction of sendoff and receiver is resorted to, and alsoimmaterial as to how the various overhead pulleys and double pulleys aresupported, the construction represented being, however, a convenient andefiective one.

If desired, the carrier-cord may be pulled down by hand or by a longhook. The send-off cord is, however, advisable.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a store serviceapparatus, the combination of a receiver, a send-oil, and a carriercordoperating in connection with and common to both receiver and send-off.

2. In a storescrvice apparatus, the combination of areeeivcr,a'send-oli', a carrier-cord operating in connection with and common toboth receiver and sendoff, and asingle pulling-rope for operating saidcarrier-cord, substantially as set forth.

3. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a receiver, asend-off, a carrier-cord operating in connection with and common to bothreceiver and send-off, and pulleys above said receiver and send-off overwhich the cord passes. V

4. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a receiver, asend-off, a carrier-cord operating in connection with and common to bothreceiver and sendcfit, a pulley above the receiver, a pulley above thesend-off, a pulley intermediate between said pulleys, and a doublepulley, substantially as set forth.

5. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a receiver, asend-off, a carrier-cord operating in connection with and common to bothreceiver and send-off, a pulley above the receiver, a pulley above thesend-off, a double pulley beneath which the carrier-cord passes after ithas passed over the pulleys above the receiver and send-off, and apulley above the double pulley over which the cord also passes,substantially as set forth.

6. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a receiver, asend-off, a carrier-cord operating in connection with and common to bothreceiver and sendoff, a pulley above the receiver, a pulley above thesend-off, adouble pulley beneath which the carrier'cord passes after ithas passed over the pulleys above the receiver and sendoff, a pulleyabove the double pulley over which the cord also passes, and a singlepulling-rope connected with the double pulley, substantially as setforth.

7. In a store-service apparatus, the c01nbination of a receiver, asendoff, a carrier-cord operating in connection with and common to bothreceiver and send-off, a pulley above the receiver, a pulley above thesend-off, a double pulley beneath which the carrier-cord passes after ithas passed over the pulleys above the receiver and sendoff, a pulleyabove the double pulley over which the cord also passes, a singlepulling rope connected with the double pulley, and a send-off cordconnected with that portion of the carrier-cord which operates inconnection with the send-off, substantially as set forth.

8. In a store-service apparatus, the combination of a receiver, anarrester, means for occasioning the operation of the arrester by thereceiver, a send-off, and a carrier-cord common to and operating inconnection with both receiver and send-oil, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 23d day ofJune, A. D. 1885.

IsInon-n BIRGE.

In presence of J. BONSALL TAYLOR, \VM. 0. Srnawnnincn.

